Residential Commons Leadership Corps

The Residential Commons Leadership Corps (RCLC) is made up of students who are shaping and promoting the Residential Commons experience at SMU. The RCLC works with Faculty in Residence, Resident Community Directors and resident assistants to develop unique traditions for each commons that will foster community and long-term bonds among residents.

SMU Faculty in Residence also are blogging at http://blog.smu.edu/studentadventures/category/faculty-in-residence-smu-residential-commons/

An update from Meaghan, a member of the Residential Commons Leadership Corps and a second-year student triple majoring in Environmental Science with an Earth Science emphasis, Geology, and Chemistry, while triple minoring in Math, English, and Environmental Engineering: It’s a pretty big buzzword on campus these days. But how does it relate to the Residential Commons? I’ve talked before about how the Residential Commons will bring diversity to students, but not a whole lot about what we, as a diverse population, can bring to SMU. We as students come from all walks of life, with all different backgrounds, and we have the amazing opportunity to share our stories with our fellow residents. A Residential Commons is a mini-SMU, a small example of the [...]

An update from Jamie, a member of the Residential Commons Leadership Corps and a second-year student majoring in accounting in the Cox School of Business. It seems like every time I’m in poetry class I end up doodling. My mind is focused on the discussion of the poem, of course, but my creative side is so in tune that my hand can’t help but continue to put pencil on paper. First, the outline. Then a middle crossbar-a sort of upside down V. Then our symbols. And finally, my commons’ name, “WARE,” in bold letters across the top. I’m drawing a rough version of our crest. Each RCLC team has meticulously planned out, hand drawn and rewritten, and submitted their crest for approval [...]

An update from Andrew, a member of the Residential Commons Leadership Corps and a first-year majoring in Anthropology and Human Rights: Tammy Winter (pictured above with SMU Ambassador Mehdi Hami) is going to be an RA in Armstrong Commons next year. I spoke with her about the excitement surrounding the Residential Commons, and asked her what we can expect to see in the residence halls next year. Here is what she had to say: Q: What are you most looking forward to about the Residential Commons? A: “I'm really excited about the sense of community that the Residential Commons is bringing to SMU. We're integrating the classroom with the residence halls, and I think we'll be better for it.” Q: How do [...]

An update from Tien, a member of the Residential Commons Leadership Corps and a second-year student majoring in advertising and public relations: Greetings, fellow friends! Although Spring Break is long gone, I wanted to take a second to share with y'all the magic of New Orleans. An item on my SMU bucket list has definitely been to attend an Alternative Breaks trip. I came into the experience expecting to do just service, but left the experience with a slew of inside jokes, friendly smiles, and a larger appreciation for the luxuries that I possess in my life. Our group was diverse, with an array of leadership positions, majors, and grades. I imagine the Commons system to be somewhat similar to this group [...]

An update from Andrew, a member of the Residential Commons Leadership Corps and a first-year majoring in Anthropology and Human Rights: Spring has sprung at SMU! With midterms out of the way, and less than two months remaining in the semester, its time to start thinking about housing for next year. Fall 2014 will mark a new era in Mustang history with the implementation of the Residential Commons. To help with the transition, the RCLC held an expo in Hughes-Trigg recently. From 3 to 7 p.m., students came by to learn about each Commons and consider where they might want to live next year. Many wonderful Residential Commons Directors and Faculty-in-Residence members made appearances at the expo to promote their Commons. The [...]

An update from Meaghan, a member of the Residential Commons Leadership Corps and a second-year student triple majoring in Environmental Science with an Earth Science emphasis, Geology, and Chemistry, while triple minoring in Math, English, and Environmental Engineering: Wow! What a weekend. What do you get when you take an NCC, an NRHH-CC, an RHA president, and an advisor and stick them in a car on the way to LSU for conference? A bunch of good ideas! I’m so excited to talk a little bit about the conference we went to this past weekend and changes that may be coming up for RHA. Without going into details, RHA will be restructured to match the new plan for the Residential Commons system. The method [...]

An update from Jamie, a member of the Residential Commons Leadership Corps and a second-year student majoring in accounting in the Cox School of Business. I type in the code and step into a warm room amongst the cold outside. The smell of tomato soup fills my nose. It’s lunch time at Delta Gamma. I get my plate and sit down at a table full of friends. The best part isn’t the soup, though, or the grilled cheese, or even the nice place setting and the fine silverware. It’s that time after everyone is done eating, but still sitting down. We linger. The conversations range from SMU basketball to politics to who had the cutest dress at formal. We laugh, discuss, and [...]

An update from Meaghan, a member of the Residential Commons Leadership Corps and a second-year student triple majoring in Environmental Science with an Earth Science emphasis, Geology, and Chemistry, while triple minoring in Math, English, and Environmental Engineering: Diversity. It’s a word we use a lot when talking about the Residential Commons system, but what does it really mean to the future of SMU? There are a lot of ways a community can be diverse. Besides those more commonly referred to – race, ethnicity, major, hometown – there’s also talent, sexual identity, sexual orientation, music genre preference, favorite movie, favorite subject in school….well, you get the picture. Like many things at SMU, diversity isn’t just one thing or the other. Rather, it’s a [...]

An update from Tien, a member of the Residential Commons Leadership Corps and a second-year student majoring in advertising and public relations: To all of our active readers, thank you so much for joining us on our journey towards retiring the current residential system and bringing in Residential Commons. I know for some, this will be a tough change. For others, this is the change they have been waiting for. Nobody really knows how things are going to play out and which traditions are going to stick and which aren't, but it's important to remember that Residential Commons will only work if we all put effort towards making it a legacy. Let's make this a tradition that SMU students, faculty, and alumnae [...]

An update from Meaghan, a member of the Residential Commons Leadership Corps and a second-year student triple majoring in Environmental Science with an Earth Science emphasis, Geology, and Chemistry, while triple minoring in Math, English, and Environmental Engineering: Hey you! Yes, you! Do you have any questions about the RC System? Heard some things that you’re completely unsure if they’re true? Let me clear up some of the confusion with a quick myth vs reality post. Myth #1: Those new buildings being built are “Sophomore housing.” Reality: Nope. Those buildings are just five additional Residential Commons. There is no such thing as “Sophomore housing” on campus. In the RCs students of all grades will be mixed! Yay diversity! Myth #2: Current freshmen won’t [...]